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What is a Cartouche? A Cartouche (pronounced "kar-toosh")
is actually a French word meaning 'gun cartridge'. When
Napoleon's soldiers were in Egypt, they called the oval
shaped etchings surrounding the king names "cartouche"
because it reminded them of the shape of their gun
cartridges, or bullets. Cartouches have a a long lasting legend that dates back over 5000 years ago. The
use of the cartouche started during the Fourth Dynasty under
Pharaoh Sneferu. Prior to this the name of the kings
and gods were written in a rectangular frame. The
cartouche was known in ancient Egypt as the shenu,
derived from the Egyptian word "Sheni" which means to
encircle.. A Cartouche was
originally designed for the Pharaohs to be an amulet
of protection. Each Cartouche had the name of
the person wearing it written in Egyptian Hieroglyphics.
This was particularly important that it the name be
permanently preserved in stone, because as long as the name
was spoken the soul lived on. Your personalized cartouche jewelry will be
hand made in our Cairo workshop. Custom orders welcomed.
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*Please note:
Specifications dimensions are approximate, as each cartouche bangle is
an individual work. There are no refunds on cartouches as each one is a
personalized order. With the ever increasing
price of gold we feel it is important that you know exactly what you
are buying, so we have elected to publish the grams of gold. Your
personalized cartouche jewelry will not weigh less than what we publish,
this is the minimum it will weigh, in 99.9% of the cases your cartouche
will weigh more than what we publish. Approximate sizes for
the cartouche on this bangle are : Up to 4
symbols 1 1/4 " long, up to 6 symbols 1 1/2" long, and up to 9 symbols 1
3/4" long on the actually cartouche, please be advised this may
vary depending on the symbols used, this is simply a guideline. All of our jewelry bears a
hallmark stamp of the government, attesting to the fact that it is 18k
gold. It is virtually impossible
to give an exact weight until the cartouche is complete as it will
depend on the symbols, and we feel giving a range, i.e. of 3 to 5 grams
of gold is extremely misleading. The artists reserve the right to choose
the hieroglyphic symbols and arrangement. (Some letters such as "a" "h" and
"m" have two symbols.) If you have particular symbols please
advise us in the "Special Instructions" box on the order form.
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